1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an arrangement and to a method of increasing the quantity of input and output connectors, which are available for the attachment to connection cables of electronic equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to an arrangement, such as a connector drawer, which is adapted to be installed in a selectively retractable and extendable mode in a laptop computer and which provides for a versatile structure facilitating an elective increase in the quantity of input and output connectors as may be necessitated by specific utilization of the electronic equipment or laptop computers, particularly in conjunction with the connection therewith of auxiliary operating devices or components.
The employment of diverse kinds of electronic equipment, particularly such as, but not limited to, laptop computers, has dramatically and even exponentially increased in recent times in both the business and private sectors, whereby the amount of components and operative devices which are to be connected to the electronic equipment has significantly increased, so as to place ever increasing demands on being able to increase the power of the main components in the laptop computers, which is required by the interfacing of optional external drive units and electronic components with the laptop computer. In particular, the power of the main components of the laptop computers, such as the central processing unit CPU and graphics chip is constantly being increased in order to be able to accommodate operative interconnections with such optional drive units and components which are located externally of the laptop computers. These external units or components may comprise CDs or DVD-ROM drives, digital audio tape drives and other memory units, USB, Firewire, videos, printers, audio and so forth, which are intended to be operatively connected to the CPU and the graphics chip in the laptop computer. These connections all result in an increase in heat which is generated by the internal components of the laptop computer, and require the heat to be dissipated to the environment from the confines of the laptop computer. This, in effect, necessitates that the peripheral edge regions of the housing and/or cover structure of the laptop computer must be provided with openings or apertures of ever increasing size to permit the inward and outward flow therethrough of the heated air which has been generated by the internal power components, thereby reducing the space which is available along the peripheral edges of the laptop computer housing or cover for the locating of connectors to the internal connection cables which are located in the laptop computer, and which are needed for the connecting of optional or auxiliary devices, which are attached to the laptop computer. Consequently, this imposes physical limitations in the availability of space for positioning of the connectors around the peripheral edges of the laptop computer, whereby such connections must be compatible with the various optional external input and output devices. The resultant dirth in the availability of space for such connections necessitates that a solution must be found for the problem of being able to provide for additional input and/or output connectors along the periphery or edges of the laptop computer housing structure, which will satisfy the need for the attachment of diverse types of external devices to the laptop computer or electronic equipment.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Miksch, U.S. Pat. No. 6,548,754 B2 discloses a method and apparatus for managing cabling in an optional drive filler, and in particular relates to a drawer structure which enables accessing cable within the chassis of an electronic device without the danger of an installer being exposed to an electric shock or damaging electrical connections. More specifically, this patent relates to a slidable drawer with an upper biasing arm and a pair of resilient arms, which are adapted to cooperatively engage cable structure located inside the drawer or the chassis of an electronic device, such as a computer housing structure.
Teagno, U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,115 relates to a fuse unit, wherein a drawer having a fuse receiving structure is adapted to enable the selective interconnection of a slidable fuse drawer housing fuses which are to be selectively electrically connected to a circuit board arrangement mounting a plurality of parallel stacked circuit boards.